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Archie Karas

This high stakes poker player, pool shark and legend is best known for a gambling streak known simply as The Run.

"You've got to understand something. Money means nothing to me. I don't value it. I've had all the material things I could ever want. Everything. The things I want, money can't buy: health, freedom, love, happiness. I don't care about money, so I have no fear. I don't care if I lose it."

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In The Beginning

Growing up in Antypata on the isle of Cefalonia, Greece, Anargyros Nicholas Karabourniotis was the son of a struggling construction worker. As a teenager, Archie shot marbles as a teenager to stave off hunger.

The relationship between Archie and his father was tumultuous. Archie’s winnings from shooting marbles increased at the same time as the beatings he received from his father, until they decided to work together on the construction site one summer. Unfortunately, tempers rose and Archie’s father threw a shovel at his son’s head. Soon after, Archie got a job on a ship as a waiter, delivering him to Portland, Oregon. Eventually, Archie made his way to Los Angeles, California.

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The Hustle

As opposed to some of the other poker legends featured here, Archie Karas was much more of a gambler than a serious poker professional. Beginning in his childhood, hustling for money was a part of what Archie did and what he was good at. Arriving in Los Angeles, he began hustling pool games and made a ‘far healthier’ income than his waiter positions.

If marbles were the gateway drug to Archie’s billiard hustle, pool halls were the gateway to underground poker games. Archie quickly accumulated two million dollars playing these poker games and lost all but fifty dollars just as quickly.

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The Run

As an intrepid gambler, Archie’s wealth would see major rises and devastating falls. It’s at the start of one of these dips where we begin the story of The Run. Beginning in December of 1992 with a loan of ten thousand dollars, Archie would make $40 MILLION DOLLARS, the longest lucky streak in gambling history. He is said to have only lost once, to Johnny Chan for a mere nine hundred thousand dollars.

The Run was fueled on the poker table, with WSOP Champions such as Doyle Brunson loosing to Archie, however it was the craps table that put the finishing touches on this remarkable journey.

I posted before about Benny Binion and how he brought super high stakes gambling to Las Vegas. Archie Karas was about to take full advantage of this fact. On the craps table, Archie staked the maximum roll at $200,000 a roll. These stakes had been raised for Archie and subsequently lowered after he left. Betting only two numbers, the 4 and 10, in two rolls he had acquired over nine hundred thousand dollars, increasing his winnings to more than $40 Million.

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The Fall

In a mere 30 months, Archie had made a mountain of cash, so much money that he had a difficult time keeping it all safe. In three weeks, it was all but gone. Starting with losing 11$ Million dollars at the craps table, Archie decided to try his hand at baccarat, losing another 17$ Million. Heading back to poker, he lost again. Taking a brief trip to Greece, he returned only to finish losing the rest of his fortune.

The final blow came in September of 2013, when Archie’s home in Las Vegas was raided by police. Accused multiple prior times of cheating at blackjack, police found the evidence and sentenced him to jail. Using fake, hallowed out casino chip filled with die, Archie would run the chip over the back of face cards and aces, giving him an advantage over the casino. He plead guilty and was sentenced to three years of probation. He spent 73 days in jail before being able to make bail. This conviction resulted in Archie’s placement in the Black Book, the Nevada List of Excluded Persons.

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Moral of the story, kids; get rid of the evidence!

😉

xo, @bethalea

_{sources: https://www.casino.org/blog/archie-karas-the-rise-and-fall-of-the-ultimate-high-roller/
https://www.gamblingsites.com/info/famous-gamblers/archie-karas/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archie_Karas}